Emeralds Shutout Hops In Series Finale
Hillsboro, OR (July 23, 2023) – The Hops entered the series finale against their Northwest League rival Eugene Emeralds on Sunday with a chance to split the six-game set. In the matinee at Ron Tonkin Field, Nick Sinacola pitched five scoreless for the second time in the series and the
Hillsboro, OR (July 23, 2023) – The Hops entered the series finale against their Northwest League rival Eugene Emeralds on Sunday with a chance to split the six-game set. In the matinee at Ron Tonkin Field, Nick Sinacola pitched five scoreless for the second time in the series and the Emeralds would get another big home run from Sean Roby, his fourth of the series, en route to a 3-0 win.
Both starting pitchers Nick Sinacola and Spencer Giesting were making their second appearances of the series. In the first matchup between the two, Sinacola had the upper hand as he didn’t allow an earned run over five frames, while Spencer Giesting was tagged for six earned runs in the 13-1 loss.
In the rematch, both pitchers brought their A-game. Both teams had just one hit and zero runs through five innings. Sinacola would exit the game after finishing the fifth and allowing just two hits.
Spencer Giesting was cruising into the sixth inning, where he ran into his first trouble in the game. Carter Williams doubled to lead off the inning and was then followed by a Grant McCray RBI single. With a 1-0 lead, McCray stole second and was in scoring position for Sean Roby. For the fourth time in five games, Roby went deep and extended the lead to 3-0.
Giesting came back out for the seventh inning and allowed a leadoff walk, but the runner was erased on an around the horn double play. His line was closed at seven innings pitched, four hits, three earned runs and five strikeouts.
Carlos Meza entered the game and allowed back-to-back hits in the eighth inning by Carter Howell and Matt Higgins to make it 4-0 Eugene.
Seth Lonsway completed the final four innings of the game behind Nick Sinacola and preserved the shutout. The 4-0 final marks the sixth time Hillsboro has been shutout in 2023.
The game only took 1:56 which was the quickest game in the Northwest League this season.
The Hops will head to Washington for a six-game series with the Los Angeles Angels’ High-A affiliate, Tri-City Dust Devils starting on Tuesday. The pregame show will be at 6:50 with first pitch at 7:05 on Rip City Radio 620.